President Donald Trump is facing mounting criticism after denying any personal involvement in the controversial prison transfer of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, who was recently moved to a lower-security facility in Texas.
During a CNN interview on Tuesday, host Kaitlan Collins directly pressed Trump on whether he had approved Maxwell’s relocation and if he had prior knowledge of the move.
“I didn’t know about it at all, no,” Trump stated. “I read about it just like you did.” He added, “It is not a very uncommon thing.”
Maxwell, 63, was transferred from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas. The facility, nicknamed “Club Fed,” features a gym, yoga classes, and a unique “puppy program,” prompting criticism from former officials and legal experts.
Collins also asked Trump whether he believed Maxwell was credible. In response, Trump shifted his focus to his Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, who had interviewed Maxwell twice last month, according to NBC News.
“He’s a very talented man,” Trump said of Blanche. “I didn’t talk to him about it, but I will tell you that whatever he asked would be totally appropriate.”
Trump added, “Probably wants to make sure that, you know, people that should not be involved or aren’t involved are not hurt by something that would be very, very unfortunate, very unfair to a lot of people.”
Despite reiterating that Blanche’s actions were “totally above board,” the explanation failed to satisfy many observers.
CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig voiced skepticism over Trump’s apparent ignorance. “It’s almost impossible that Ghislaine Maxwell just happened, by coincidence, to be moved to a better facility a week or so after she met with Todd Blanche,” Honig said.
“You would need specific authorization, you would need a waiver because Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence… No, it does not just happen.” Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) also dismissed Trump’s denials. “I don’t think that there’s a lot that the president is personally aware of, so him being clueless is on brand,” she said.
“But in this particular set of circumstances… I absolutely believe that he was knowledgeable about this.” Crockett added, “He is concerned about himself. We know for a fact that he is in the Epstein files… I don’t think that it’s a big secret that that’s the reason they wanted to cover up.”
Former Bureau of Prisons official Robert Hood labeled Maxwell’s relocation a “travesty of justice,” while retired federal agent Vito Maraviglia said the move “doesn’t pass the smell test.”
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is set to host a high-level meeting at his home Wednesday with top Trump officials, including Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The group is expected to formulate a “unified response” to the growing controversy surrounding Maxwell and the Epstein case.
